The Pass
by Dancing Stormtrooper
Summary: Songfic. The pressures of school and crime fighting take their effect on Gohan. Please Read and Review! (I fixed the tags and mistakes, so the story should read better now)


The Pass The Pass  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, Akira Toriyama does. I don't own the song "The Pass" Either, Rush does.  
Author's Note: Rush is THE coolest thing that ever came out of Canada! I fixed the tags and some of the mistakes.  
  
* * *  
  
The end of the day bell rang at Orange Star High school. Everyone poured out of the building, clamoring about going to the mall or going to their friend's house, or something. One person lagged behind however, and that person was Gohan.  
  
_Proud swagger out of the schoolyard waiting for the world's applause. Rebel without a conscious, martyr without a cause._  
  
On the outside he looked okay, but there was something about the way he moved. He moved like he was trying to hide the fact that something was bothering him. Actually, there was something bothering him. He was feeling swamped. Between keeping straight A's to keep his Mother happy and protecting the world from scum to keep his Father and the rest of the world happy was taking a toll on him. His mind felt like an overused radio, being switched from station to station too fast too often.  
  
_Static on your frequency, electrical storm in your veins. Raging at unreachable glory, straining at invisible chains._  
  
He didn't walk straight home. Instead he walked in the complete opposite direction. He needed to get away from everything, even if it was just temporary. He then took off to the sky, flying in the direction of a nearby, secluded ledge that overlooked the sea. He liked it there. He found the smell of the sea salt and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks relaxing. He never mentioned the place to his parents. The only person he told was Videl, but she could keep a secret. He landed right on the ledge and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge. The sea was awfully turbulent today; thrashing against the rocks so hard it looked like it was going to sweep the rocks away.  
  
_And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge, staring down into a heartless sea. Can't stand life on the razor's edge, nothing's what you thought it would be._  
  
He felt relaxed physically, but mentally his mind was still swirling. Math problems and evil aliens he fought in the past kept invading his thoughts. He sighed a melancholy sigh into the wind.  
  
"Hey. I thought I'd find you here." A familiar voice said from behind him. He turned his head slowly and saw Videl standing behind him. Her black pigtails swaying slightly in the breeze.  
  
"Oh, hey Videl." He mumbled, his voice flat. "I thought you left with the others."  
  
"I stood on the side of the building until they all left. You told me you come here sometimes to relax if something's bugging you." She said, sitting down next to him.  
  
"Am I that obvious?" He asked, averting his gaze back to the sea.  
  
"No. I've just been around you long enough to know when you're not feeling like yourself."  
  
"Have you ever thought about ending it all?" He asked suddenly.  
  
"What?" Videl was taken completely off guard by the question.  
  
"You know. . . have you ever thought about. . . suicide?"  
  
"No, why is that what's bothering you?" Videl asked. Gohan didn't answer her.  
  
_All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer by the stars. All of us spend time in the gutter, dreamers turn to look at the cars.  
  
Turn around and turn around and turn around,  
  
turn around and walk the razor's edge, don't turn your back and slam the door on me._  
  
"Gohan, is that what's bothering you?" Videl asked again.  
  
"That's part of it. The other part is sheer stress and pressure. With Mom nagging at me to get good grades and Dad always expecting me to fight off evil aliens, it amazing I didn't snap a long time ago." He said, his voice rising as anger quickly replaced depression.  
  
"There, now don't you feel better?" Videl asked.  
  
"Maybe." He told her. He then stood up. "I gotta get home." He said quickly. Videl stood up and turned to face Gohan, her face full of concern and worry.  
  
"Don't do anything stupid now. Remember, if you need to talk, you know where I live." She told him.  
  
He nodded and took off, leaving Videl standing on the ledge.  
  
_It's not as if this barricade, blocks the only road. It's not as if you're all alone, in wanting to explode._  
  
When Gohan got home, it was all ready dark. He braced himself for the fit Chi-Chi was going to throw the minute he walked in the door.  
  
"Where have you been!" Chi-Chi was on him like bees on honey, and he wasn't even fully in the house yet.  
  
"Um, I was-"He tried to explain, before he got cut off again.  
  
"I was worried sick! Why didn't you call?"  
  
"You see I couldn't-"  
  
"You all ready missed half of your studying time. Now go straight up to your room and study."  
  
"But Mom I-"  
  
"No buts mister, now march!" She pointed in the direction of his room. He sighed, defeated. He couldn't talk to her, especially when she was in this mood. He quietly went into his room, shutting the door behind him. He threw his book bag in a corner of the room. He was in no mood to study. All he wanted to do was end his suffering, and free his mind from the pressure it was under. He looked on his desk where the day's newspaper lay. Chi-Chi put it there, knowing he likes to read about what's going on in the world. He picked it up, hoping to find some spirit lifting news, but right on the front page was the last headline he wanted to see.  
  
"Local Teen Takes Own Life."  
  
_Someone set a bad example, made surrender seem all right. The act of a noble warrior, who lost the will to fight._  
  
Gohan's hands started to shake, the headline sinking into his overloaded mind. That was the one thing needed to trigger his mind to take over. Tears welled over in his eyes as he took a pen and scribbled a note on a piece of paper. He then walked over to his dresser and pulled open a drawer. He dug around until his fingers found what they were looking for, a razor blade. Tears ran down his face as he ran out of his room, down the hallway, and out the back door. He didn't even bother flying, he ran all the way to his secluded area, ignoring his burning lungs and aching legs. They wouldn't be hurting for long. He stopped at the edge of the ledge and looked down at the sea, now even more turbulent then before. A cold wind blew up from the sea, causing him to start shaking even worse then he had been.  
  
_And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge, staring down into a heartless sea. done with life on the razor's edge, nothing's what you thought it would be._  
  
He extended his left arm over the sea and pulled his sleeve up. He took the razor, shining under the moonlight, and made a vertical gash in his arm, starting from his wrist and ending near his elbow. He watched the blood well out of the wound and drip down into the sea, which swallowed it up right away. He smiled and sunk down to the ground, his energy draining away with his blood.  
  
* * *  
  
Videl knocked on the Son's door. She knew it was late, but she wanted to talk to Gohan and see if he was feeling any better. She wouldn't be able to sleep not knowing if he wasn't going to be okay.  
  
"Hi Mrs. Son. Is Gohan awake?" She asked, playing with one of her pigtails nervously.  
  
"It's a little late to talk. Can it wait until morning?" Chi-Chi asked.  
  
"No. It's important that I talk to him now." Videl told her.  
  
"Okay, but make it quick."  
  
"Thank you." Videl walked into the house and straight to Gohan's room. "Gohan?" She called, knocking on the door. When there was no answer, she opened the door. Gohan wasn't there.  
  
"Where is he?" She asked out loud. She then noticed the note on the table. She picked it up and read it.  
  
"Oh-no Gohan!" Videl yelled, her hands crumpling the note.  
  
"What happened?" Chi-Chi asked, barging into the room. "Where's Gohan?"  
"You got to come with me. Let's hope we're not too late." Videl frantically grabbed Chi-Chi's hand and pulled her out of the house, in the direction to the ledge.  
  
"What's going on?" Chi-Chi asked, trying to pull her hand out of Videl's.  
  
"Read this." Videl told her, handing her the note. She read it.  
  
"No!" Chi-Chi yelled, her eyes widening.  
  
"Come on. He should be hear." Videl panted, pulling Chi-Chi with her to the ledge.  
  
"Oh-no, we're too late." Videl said, her hand flying up to her mouth.  
  
"No my baby! My precious baby!" Chi-Chi cried, running over to Gohan's lifeless body and scooping him up in her arms, rocking him back and forth. Videl dissolved into tears, sinking down where she stood.   
  
_All of us get lost in the darkness, Dreamers learn to steer by the stars. All of us do time in the gutter, Dreamers turn to look at the cars.  
  
Turn around and turn around and turn around,  
  
Turn around and walk the razor's edge, Don't turn your back and slam the door on me._  
  
A few days later at the wake, everyone stopped by to pay their respects. Even Piccolo came, but he kept his distance from the coffin and everyone else. Chi-Chi was taking it the hardest. She wore black mourning clothes and didn't stop crying once. Goku had his arm around her shoulders in a fruitless attempt to console her.  
  
_"I told you to come talk to me. Why didn't you? You should've. We could've worked things out."_ Videl thought, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
_No hero in your tragedy, no daring in your escape. No salutes for your surrender, nothing noble in your fate. Christ what have you done?"_  
  
Later that day, while they were driving to the burial site, Videl started to think about what happened.  
  
_"I feel like I didn't do enough to help him. I should've told Chi-Chi when he mentioned suicide."_ She thought, watching rain run down the window.  
  
_All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer by the stars. All of us spend time in the gutter, dreamers turn to look at the cars.  
  
Turn around and turn around and turn around,  
  
turn around and walk the razor's edge,_  
  
The car stopped, jerking her out of her thoughts. She got out and walked to Gohan's coffin.  
  
_Turn around and walk the razor's edge,_  
  
She walked right up to the coffin and touched the cold wood, along with Chi- Chi, who was still crying.  
  
_Turn around and walk the razor's edge,_  
  
"I'm going to miss you." She whispered, smiling sadly through her tears. She then turned her back to the coffin and made her way back to the car.  
  
_don't turn your back and slam the door on me._  
  



End file.
